


Artforms In Different Ways

by YvonnePersonne



Category: Killing Eve (TV 2018)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Painter Villanelle, Sculpturer Eve, Slow Burn, maybe some angst in there, we'll see won't we
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:08:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25529416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YvonnePersonne/pseuds/YvonnePersonne
Summary: Famous sculptress Eve meet Villanelle Astankova, a talented Russian painter. With chemestry through the roof, they learn each others artforms through each other.
Relationships: Eve Polastri/Villanelle | Oksana Astankova
Comments: 4
Kudos: 61





	Artforms In Different Ways

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo this is my first AU fic, I'm gonna try to consistently upload but I can't make any promises. Hope y'all like it!

Eve swirls the golden liquid in her tall, thin champagne glass. People's hushed murmuring was making her go insane, and her mood had inevitably soured as the night dragged on at a snail's pace. At the beginning of the exhibition, people hadn't stopped bombarding her with the most obscene questions. 

They kept putting words in her mouth, trying to find meaning behind meaningless things and figuring her sculptures out like they were puzzles, except they are already assembled and right in front of them. The only piece that was missing was them just letting themselves _see_ for once. They don't listen, and all they do is argue about every small insignificant detail instead of taking a step back and seeing the whole picture. Everyone says art is subjective, but sometimes it isn't supposed to be. Or at least Eve thinks it shouldn't, but that doesn't stop them from trying to find every other possible thing Eve might've meant except the one she did.

After she had lashed out at a patron for asking yet another pointless question half-way through the night, people started to avoid her. So now she was left alone at her own damn exhibit. 

Eve huffs and snaps her wrist up to reveal her clock from the loose sleeve of her dress. 20:39. Twenty minutes left until she was free. Eve fought not to groan.

She was standing close to the floor to ceiling windows, the rain patters softly on the glass. The only thing that was keeping her from going nuts. She would've gone out to take a breather if she had an umbrella with her but had forgotten when it had taken longer than expected to get ready and in her haste, only grabbed her bag. _Fuck_ even her coat was home, this dress was going to get soaked. This time she did groan, and if anybody glanced her way, Eve didn't care to notice it. Her mind was long gone as she looked down on the streets below. The city was peaceful this way. The darkness draped over it like a soft veil, hiding its brashness behind a false sense of security. The art exhibition was on the second floor, the shop and Eve's office downstairs. Eve was glad; she wouldn't have had this view to distract her otherwise. 

A hand taps her on the shoulder and brings her mind back to the surface, making Eve steel herself for yet another bombarding of questions. She turns to find a gorgeous woman looking at her with a curious look. 

"You look awfully lonley for the center of attention." A husky voice came out, and Eve notes the accent that made it seem like her voice was dipped in sweet, golden honey. 

"Isn't that usually the case with people like me?" Eve answers. The woman huffs, raises her eyebrows and does something Eve could only describe as a facial shrug. They turn to look out the window in surprisingly comfortable silence. Eve glances to her right. Long eyelashes, high cheekbones, clear skin. _incredible_ fashion sense. Who was this woman, and where did she get that blazer? Glancing at Eve through the corner of her eyes, she arches an eyebrow before turning to look at her.

"Like what you're seei-"

"You're gorgeous." Eve blurts out before really realizing she had even thought it, much less said it. The woman raises her eyebrows and looks more impressed than surprised.

"You're not so bad yourself, Eve Polastri." She purrs and grins as she brings the glass up to her lips. Eve feels her face heat up, and her fight or flight system kicks in. What the _hell_ was that? Why did she say that? Eve clears her throat to try and smooth over the sudden turn in tone.

"Uh... You clearly know who I am but I don't know who you are." The woman brings the glass down from her face and looks at Eve before extending a slender hand. It gleams as shiny metal glistens under the soft light. Eve grasps it in her own, her hand feels like satin but Eve could also feel light callouses on it. 

"Villanelle, Villanelle Astankova." Eve had most definitely heard of that name but had never put a face to it.

"Aren't you that famous Russian painter?" Eve furrows her eyebrows and Villanelle smiles lightly.

"Someone has been doing their homework." She lets go of Eve's hand. "I'm not usually known outside of my country. I'm surprised an American knows of me."

"How can I not know of you? Your portraits are exquisite!" Eve takes a step forward and gestures with her glass as she keeps talking. "The way you capture people's eyes, what they're feeling- and the poses! You always manage to capture something..." Eve's forehead creases as she tries to find the right word. "Something- Something I can't quite name but that is so..."

At last, she finds it. " _individual_ ." She looks up at Villanelle again and is surprised to find eyes watching her with a sort of curious reverence. It felt too intimate, _far_ too intimate for two strangers, so Eve snaps her gaze away. She starts to walk and looks back to signal that the other woman should follow. The conversation falters as they walk around the exhibition.

Eve gives small tidbits of information about some of the statues standing on display and Villanelle provides her commentary here and there, both seemingly trying to figure out how they fit together; like dancing with a new partner. 

Villanelle walks up to one of Eve's more recent one: a small golden statue of a bare woman, chest up to the sky with her hands coming up to cover not herself, but her face. Except her face is dripping down on her stomach like a frozen waterfall. The gold gets caught in the light and makes it look like honey.

"I find this one interesting to watch." Villanelle circles around it where it stands on the small pedestal. 

"That one's one of my more recent ones."

Villanelle looks up at Eve, and her eyes hold an emotion Eve can't place.

"It captures a feeling I think every woman has felt once." 

"Oh? Elaborate." _This will be good,_ Eve thinks. Villanelle stands behind it and Eve in front, the statue between them, like a bridge to bring them together. Villanelle locks her eyes onto Eve's and at once Eve feels like she's looking straight through her. A strange feeling settles in Eve's stomach as Villanelle looks at her with those eyes.

"Exposed." A single word. A simple one at that, and it was precisely what Eve was trying to convey. Yet every other idiot around her chattered about identity and expression, that she was 'reaching for the sky and that she was _free_ ' when it was the complete opposite.

"Yeah..." Eve looks down at her work. "That's exactly the feeling I was going for."

Eve looks up to find Villanelle wearing a proud grin, and it throws Eve off. One moment she looks so elegant and poised, like a lioness ready to pounce, and another she resembles a toddler, happy for getting praise. Villanelle circles back to Eve with her eyes still locked on her and for a moment Eve almost steps back. The toddler was gone, and back was the lioness. She changes so quickly it's startling. 

She looks like she's going to say something, but then she walks around Eve and back to where they had first started talking. Eve swears she's about to get whiplash from the way this woman changes in the blink of an eye, but at the same time, she finds she doesn't want to stop talking to her. Villanelle is by far the most fascinating person at the exhibit, and maybe to most interesting person Eve has met in a while, or _ever_ for that matter. Besides, she seems like she genuinely listens to the things Eve says. It's refreshing. 

Eve follows along after her. She's looking out the window much like Eve had done before.

"I'm actually thinking of opening my own workshop here in London." She admits with a tint of embarrassment.

"Really?" Eve's eyebrows shoot up at the very sudden change in topic. "Why? It's not like you need it."

"It wasn't my idea. My manager, of sorts, he helps with the business I guess." She grumbles. "He suggested it. Said it would be 'good for business'." Her voice dropped, and accent got stronger in an apparent attempt to imitate this manager of hers. Eve laughs a bit at her evident distaste. 

"What? You don't like London?" 

"Eugh, how _could_ I like it? It's so dirty and wet-" She gestures to the window where her description proves to be accurate. "I mean does it ever stop raining?"

"Not really no, but I've grown to like it." Villanelle looks at Eve with a horrified expression making Eve laugh again. Eve shakes her head as she tries to figure out how to explain why she likes it to this clearly eccentric woman.

"Something about it feels... Comforting. Every time I'm away in some tropical place it starts to feel weird after a while. I keep expecting the rain and then it doesn't come and it feels strange. Besides, the rain gave me a reason to stay in and sculpt when my parents wanted me to go outside." Eve smiles as she reminisces back to when she was young, and then she looks at Villanelle. Villanelle is pouting in thought, _back to toddler it is,_ Eve muses. Villanelle sees Eve grinning for no apparent reason and frowns.

"What?"

"Nothing." Eve chuckles and drinks some of her champagne to hide her smile. 

Suddenly someone hurriedly taps her on the shoulder and Eve turns to find Kenny, her assistant, looking at her worriedly. Villanelle takes a step forward and Eve glances at her to see her eyebrows more furrowed than before, clearly not liking the interruption. Kenny looks at Villanelle and looks like he's about to run away but then seems to remember why he's there in the first place.

"Eve, they are expecting you to make the speech to signal the end of the exhibition."

"Really? Already?" Eve looks down at her clock. 21:02. _Had twenty minutes gone that quickly?_ Eve shakes her head and tries to remember her little finishing speech.

"I'll come find you in a minute, just wait." She lays a hand on Kenny's shoulder to send him away, and he looks at her with a confused look. Eve almost always wished for exhibitions like these to end as quickly as possible, so it was unlike her to forget the time- but he obeys her none the less and scurries away. Eve turns to a disappointed looking Villanelle.

"It was nice to meet you Villanelle, I've never met anyone like you." She admits, and Villanelle grins proudly again. 

"You too, Eve. I hope we meet again." Eve nods and looks at Villanelle one last time before turning away to walk to the centre of the room. Kenny clears his throat and taps with a pen on his glass to alert people, and soon everyone is standing around him and Eve. Eve's thanking speech blends into the background, the only thing Eve focusing on being the hazel, cat-like eyes watching her from the back of the crowd. Eve ends the speech and people start to file down the stairs and soon enough the only people that are left are Kenny and Eve. Eve had wanted to catch Villanelle before she left, but it was as if she had disappeared after Eve had stopped talking.

"Kenny." She caught him just as he was walking down the stairs.

"Good job today, you've gotten a lot better around crowds." He preens under her praise and nods awkwardly at the floor. 

"Thanks. You really seemed to get on with that Villanelle woman, I've never seen you distracted like that." Eve feels her face heat a bit at the observation.

"Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, have a good night."

"You too." And then he was walking down the stairs. Eve looks back to the rest of the room and lets her eyes wander over her artworks, and then she walks down the stairs.

Having locked up the building, she starts scanning the roads for a taxi. She was already soaked, and the rain didn't look like it was going to stop any time soon. She sees a cab and signals it to stop, but it drives right past her.

"Asshole..." Eve grumbles. Suddenly the rain stops falling on her, and she looks up, confused, to see an umbrella. Swirling around she comes face to face with-

"Villanelle!"

"Need a ride home?" Villanelle quirks an eyebrow.

"Oh God, you're my saviour. Thank you so much." Villanelle just smiles and leads her to what looks to be a brand new black Audi r8.

"Jesus, is this yours?" 

"Of course Eve, whose else would it be?" Villanelle huffs. Eve is about to go and open the car door when she lingers behind. Villanelle is still a stranger, whom Eve knows practically nothing about. As if sensing her sudden discomfort, Villanelle instantly pipes up:

"Oh, I don't mind if you want to take a picture of the license plate."

"Oh." Eve was surprised but also thankful that Villanelle didn't take it personally. "Thanks." She pulls her phone out, snaps a picture and sends it to Kenny, explaining the situation. He gives a thumbs up and Eve slides her phone back into her pocket. Villanelle opens the passenger door and Eve sits down in the comfortable leather seats. Villanelle slides into the seat next to her, smiles and starts the engine. It revs into life with a low hum, and it glides forward. As Villanelle begins to drive and Eve gives instructions, Eve realizes she doesn't want the evening to stop.

"Actually- Villanelle?"

"Hm?"

"I was wondering, do you want to go out for a drink instead?"

Villanelle looks at her for a moment, and then a big smile breaks out on her face.

"I'd love that, Eve."


End file.
